The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is the storied franchise’s next film, coming in after the very underwhelming theatrical release of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. It was the first new film in the franchise since The Hobbit movies, which ended in 2014.
The Hunt for Gollum is going to be centered around the character of Gollum, one of the most important characters in the original films and novels. The film is set to explore unseen aspects of Gollum’s story during the events of The Lord of the Rings, fleshing out Gollum’s character and making him even more of a sympathetic figure.
Very few specifics are known about The Hunt for Gollum, save for Andy Serkis’ role as director and presumably as Gollum once again. However, from the way the film is being set up, it seems like it is going to flip some of the Lord of the Rings franchise’s biggest characters.
Aragorn & Gandalf Will Technically Be Antagonists In The Hunt For Gollum
The Movie Will Present A Major Shake-up To These Characters’ Roles
The story that The Hunt for Gollum is adapting is from the Lord of the Rings appendices, which detail many of the side stories throughout the Lord of the Rings universe that the books themselves didn’t explore, and was also the inspiration for The War of the Rohirrim.
The movie is certainly going to try very hard to make the audience sympathize with Gollum, who is fundamentally a tragic character, and that alone will make this twist on these classic characters’ roles fascinating to see.
In the story, Aragorn and Gandalf search for Gollum after his interrogation at the hands of Sauron’s minions, as they want to know what he told them. Since the movie is going to be from Gollum’s perspective, that means that those classic LOTR characters are technically going to be the antagonists.
While they obviously won’t be perceived as villains, since audiences know who they are and why their actions are justifiable, the movie is certainly going to try very hard to make them sympathize with Gollum, who is fundamentally a tragic character. That alone will make this twist on these classic characters’ roles fascinating to see.
Major LOTR Villains Could Also Appear In The Hunt For Gollum
The Movie May Expand Beyond Just Aragorn And Gandalf
Even though Aragorn and Gandalf are likely going to be the main antagonists of the film, as they are the ones directly hunting for Gollum, there is plenty of opportunity for more iconic LOTR villains to appear in the film as well, to add a more directly threatening presence.
This could take many forms, from Sauron himself appearing in some fashion, to characters such as the Nazgûl or just the Witch-King, who would work to serve as another threat. Whether the writers want to shift focus away from the primary players in the original story, or keep The Hunt for Gollum solely focused on the main characters will remain to be seen until there are more updates along the way.
